Aeroplane.



R. A. EMMONS. AEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 19. I914.

Patented June 13, 1916.

alumna 01 RUPERT A. EMMONS, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

AEROILANE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 13, 1916.

Application filed October 19, 1914. Serial No. 867,476. 7'

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RUPERT A. EMMONS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Aeroplanes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in aeroplanes or flying machines of the heavierthan-air type, and its principal object is to provide a novel construction and arrangement of supporting surface whereby increased stability and other substantial advantages are gained, as hereinafter fully described.

In the accompanying drawing :Figure 1 is a top plan view of an aeroplane embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is a rear end elevation of the same.

Referring to the drawing, 1 designates the body of the machine, comprising a main frame or fuselage of suitable form and construction, which is shown in the present instance as inclosed at the rear to provide a car or nacelle 2 for the reception of the aviator, and, if desired, one or more passengers. Suitably supported upon the main frame is a power plant consisting of one or more motors 3 for operating propellers 4, one or more of which may be employed. At its forward portion the machine is provided with a lifting plane 5, of sufficient lifting.

capacity to sustain the weight of the forward portion of the craft, and at such portion of the machine are also arranged a vertical rudder 6 and a horizontal rudder or elevator 7, which may be operated by suitable controlling devices from any desired type of controlling gear within the car.

The body or frame structure is provided with a supporting surface, which may be either of the monoplane or multiplane type. As shown in the present instance, a monoplane surface is illustrated and comprises wings 8 extending laterally from the car or rear portion of the frame structure to like degrees on opposite sides thereof, which wings may be of suitable dimensions and are curved or inclined in a fore-and-aft direction to present a proper angle of incidence for a supporting action on the air when the craft is in flight.

In accordance with my invention, each wing consists of a body portion 9 and a terminal portion or tip 10, said parts being braced or reinforced from the machine frame and from each other by suitable stays or braces 12..

The main portions 9 of the wings 8 are of relatively greater length than the tips 10, and are raked or angled dihedrally, in an upward and outward direction, and are also raked at:a suitable angle in a forward direction. The tips 10, on the contrary, are angled or raked in a downward direction and also in a rearward direction. The rearward and downward raking of the tips 10 may be at any suitable angle, according to the area of the wings as a whole. as well as to the angle or rake of the main portions of the wings, dependent upon the size and lifting power of the craft and other conditions.

It will be observed that the machine produced is of the tailless type, that the car is disposed at the rear of the main frame, and

that the wings of the supporting surface project from the rear portion of the main frame, thus providing a novel organization and relative arrangement of parts in a flying machine structure.

By the described construction of wings 8 several desirable and important advantages are obtained. When the craft is traveling and is presented to a side wind giving excess pressure at such side, the body of the machine serves as a fulcrum on which the machine may pivot, and the upward force exerted on the inner or main portion of the wing would oppose the downward pressure exerted on the wing tip, and so neutralize the tendency of such a wind to destroy the equilibrium of the craft.

It will, of course, be understood that the area of each wing tip is sufficiently less than the area of" the main portion of the wing to compensate for the variation of leverages, owing to the much greater leverage which the tip according to its position has over the leverage of the main portion of the wing, 71. 6., considering the body of the machine as the fulcrum. It is designed to so relatively proportion the body and tip of each wing that the depressing force of a side wind on the tip would equal the lifting force of the wind on the main or inner portion of the wing, thus counteracting or materially reducing the tendency of the wing to rise excessively under the action of side gusts or excess wind pressures.

spectively, forward and rearward inclination or rakes, the lifting power of the wings is considerably increased. Also the center of pressure is distributed over a wider area than with ordinary wing forms, and the longitudinal stability is thus increased. Owing to the lateral inclination of the wings, a similar effect as that gained by the use of vertical fins is produced in preventing lateral or sidewise skidding of the machine. Moreover, the machine is given an extraordinarily high degree of inherent lateral stability, owing firstly to the dihedral angle of the wings and secondly to the raking angles of the wings and their tips, whereby excess air pressures at either side are neutralized. As a result of these several factors, it is evident that the center of gravity of the machine may be placed low down with the advantage of securing the assist ance of the force of gravity in maintaining stability, while at the same time avoiding the resistance of such force to banking and other balancing and steering operations.

The wing tips 10 may have the same foreand-aft curvature as the body portions 9 of the wings or any modified curvature, or may be flat, their rake or inclination giving the angle of inclination for the leverage action set forth.

I claim:

1. A flying machine having a supporting surface comprising wings projecting laterally from the machine body and each consisting of a body portion and a tip portion, the body portion of each wing being dihedrally angled in an outward and upward and upward and forward direction, and the tip portion of each wing being dihedrally angled longitudinally and laterally in reverse directions to the directions of angularity of the body of the Wing, said body and tip portions being of different lengths but of such opposing leverages under wind pressures as to establish substantially equal counteracting resistances.

2. An aeroplane having a supporting surface comprising wings dihedrally angled longitudinally and laterally, each of said wings comprising a bodyportion and a tip portion, the tip portions being dihedrally angled longitudinally and laterally in directions reverse to the directions of angularity of the body portions of the wings, said tip portion being of less length than the body portion but of such leverage with respect to the leverage of said body portion as to establish therewith substantially equal counteracting resistances.

3. A flying machine having a supporting surface comprising laterally extending wings, each comprising a body portion and a tip portion, each of said portions being dihedrally angled in two directions and in reverse directions to each other, said body and wing portions being of different lengths but of such opposing leverages as to establish corresponding resistances under air pressures.

4. An aeroplane having a supporting surface comprising laterally extending wings, each comprising a body portion and a tip portion, each of said portions being dihedrally angled in two directions and in reverse directions to each other, the construction and relative dimensions of said wing bodies and tips being such as to render the turning effect of the wind on one of the wings in one direction substantially equal to the turning effect of the wind on the corresponding wing tip, but in the opposite direction, due to different proportionate leverages of the wings and wing tips.

5. A flying machine including a frame, a car at the rear of the frame, a sustaining plane at the front of the frame, wings projecting laterally from the sides of the body and having body portions projecting at an upward and outward and upward and forward angle and tip portions projecting at reverse angles to said body car being provided with a cock pit located above the plane of the inner ends of-the wings and below the plane of the outer ends of the wings, rudders at the forward end of the frame, a power plant arranged in juxtaposition to the Wings, and propellers driven by said power plant and arranged substantially in advance of the wings.

6. An aeroplane embodying a longitudinally extending body structure, including a car at the rear portion thereof, a power plant upon the body structure, propelling means driven by the power plant and arranged upon the body structure in advance of the power plant and car, steering means disposed upon the body structure in advance of said propelling means, and a supporting surface comprising wings projecting laterally beyond the sides said wings being raked outwardly and upwardly and outwardly and forwardly and provided with tips raked downwardly and rearwardly.

7. A flying machine having a supporting surface comprising wings consisting of body portions and tip portions, said body portions being dihedrally angled outwardly and upwardly and outwardly and forwardly, and said tip portions being dihedrally angled downwardly and rearwardly,

the said tip portions being arranged to lie partially in advance of the inner ends of the body portions.

8. A flying machine having a supporting surface comprising wings, each consisting of a body portion and a tip portion, the body portions being dihedrally angled upwardly and outwardly and upwardly and forwardly, and the tip porportlons, said of the car,,

' gularity of the wings,

tions being dihedrally angled downwardly and rearwardly, said tip portions being of less length than the body portions but having like counteracting leverage resistances under wind pressures, and being arranged partially in advance of the rear portions of the inner ends of said body portions.

9. A flying machine having a supporting surface comprising wings dihedrally angled upwardly and outwardly and comprising body portions and tip portions, the body portions of the wings being raked in a forward direction and the tips of the wings being raked in a downward and rearward direction, each bodyportion and tip being of proportionate lengths with respect to their positions relative to the body of the machine as a fulcrum whereby their leverage forces under air pressures are equalized.

10. A flying machine having a supporting surface comprising wings each dihedrally angled laterally and longitudinally and each comprising a body portion and a tip portion, the tip portions of the wings being dihedrally angled longitudinally and laterally in reverse directions to the directions of anthe body portion and tip of each wing being of relative lengths with regard to the body of the machine as a fulcrum, to adapt them to establish equal counteracting leverage forces under distributing air pressures.

11. A flying machine comprising a frame structure, having a car at its rear portion, vertical and horizontal rudders at the front portion of the frame structure, means for adjusting projecting from the sides of the frame structure substantially in alinement with the car, said wings comprising dihedrally angled body portions raked in a forward direction and tip portions raked in a rearward and downward direction, propellers supported upon the frame structure at points on opposite sides of said frame structure and in advance of the inner extremitiee of the Wings, and means for driving said propellers.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

RUPERT A. EMMONS. Witnesses:

E. EDMoNs'roN, J r., K. DELABAR.

said rudders, supporting wings 

